Investment firm BTIG has downgraded food delivery firm Instacart, also known as Maplebear (CART), from a Buy to a Hold rating and removed its previous price target of $55 per share. The downgrade comes after roughly 25% of Instacart’s business partners switched to competitors like Amazon (AMZN), DoorDash (DASH), and Uber (UBER). BTIG said that this shift makes it harder to justify valuing the company with a high double-digit EBITDA multiple, and that these partner losses suggest Instacart is losing ground in a highly competitive market.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
- Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
Indeed, according to four-star BTIG analyst Jake Fuller, Instacart has faced several competitive hits since August 1. These include Amazon teaming up with Winn-Dixie, Uber partnering with Aldi, and a new announcement from DoorDash and Kroger (KR). Fuller also noted that these moves show that Amazon, DoorDash, and Uber are aggressively expanding in the grocery delivery space and likely have more plans ahead. As a result, these deals add significant pressure to Instacart’s ability to keep up, especially since it has not announced any similar partnerships.
Interestingly, though, Fuller previously believed that Instacart could overcome headwinds like Amazon’s growth, tough second-half comparisons, and rising shopper pay in New York City. But with the recent competitor deals piling up, he now sees more downside than upside. Therefore, for Instacart to earn a Buy rating again, the stock would need to trade at about 10 times its now uncertain 2026 EBITDA.
Is CART Stock a Good Buy
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CART stock based on 12 Buys, seven Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average CART price target of $58.53 per share implies 61.2% upside potential.
